Static receival hoppers are known and essentially consist of a funnel shaped hopper having an open top for the receipt of material and a basal channel connected to an auger. The construction and arrangement is such that the material is gravity fed from the internal cavity of the hopper onto the auger.
The filling procedure of the static receival hopper machines requires specialised loading equipment or the construction of an access ramp in view of the height at which the hopper must be secured to effect gravity feeding. Similarly, it is difficult to monitor the level of material within the internal cavity of the hopper from ground level.
Another disadvantage of static receival hopper designs is that the basal channel frequently can become obstructed with large debris or by the agglutination of proteinaceous material (e.g. macerated grapes). Further, the contents within the internal cavity of the hopper may bridge adjacent the obstruction effecting a blockage. In order to clear the blockage, the operator is required to work in the vicinity of the auger screw which poses a serious safety hazard.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved receival hopper of simple construction which will go at least some way towards overcoming the aforementioned difficulties.